Ode to Bree

Warm

Unedited Chapter Seven [1]

       Nathan and Kat finally caught up to Bree and Neil as they were just about to near the lake. It was huge, and there were a few plants surrounding it, some with blooming flowers that looked so beautiful in the dim light of the sun.
      Nathan watched as Bree went up to the water and slipped off her shoe, dipping her toe into the water. She turned back to them with a big grin.

       "It's warm!" She yelled excitedly.

       "It's not time for swimming yet," Neil chuckled as he lifted her off her feet. She squealed in playful delight as he did so, before he set her back on her feet.

       Kat stepped in front of Nathan, blocking his gaze from the couple. He hadn't realized it, but he was holding his breath all this time. Instead of leaving his eyes to stare right into Kat's, he looked down and scratched his head.

       "You should probably change now," she said, pushing the plastic bag of clothes into his hands. Nathan noticed that she didn't have on the outfit she was wearing moments ago. Instead, it was replaced by a blue tank top and shorts. Her hair was tied up in a loose braid, with thin strands falling at the side of her face.

       "Where do I change?" he asked.

       "Find a bush," Kat replied with a sly smile.

       Her playful and flirtatious tone was recognizable at that moment, and it made Nathan all the more hesitant to even take off his hoodie.

       "You know we could have just changed in the car, right?" he mumbled as he proceeded to head back among the thick trees. It was probably dangerous to hang around there, but it was either the trees or Kat, and he didn't want to be near Kat with his hoodie off.

       It's not that he saw her as some lustful feline, ready to pounce on him the second he turns around—to him, it felt like hanging out with your ex-girlfriend who still has strong feelings for you, and no matter how much you try and consider her kind gestures as a friendly kind of love, you see it as something else—something much more than it actually is—and it leaves you paranoid.

       The same kind of paranoid that makes Nathan inspect his surroundings every time he removes an article of clothing; he whips his head around at the faintest of sounds.

       The white t-shirt was made of a thin material, and the heat that was emitting from his body slowly lowered into nothing but cool air. His arms felt free from the stifling hoodie (why did he wear it in the first place, then?)

       Oh, right: he was supposed to be at school where the air conditioning was always set on 'freeze-your-butt-off'.

       He came back to their spot near the lake, only find that Kat was alone, sitting on a log, eating a sandwich. He had no clue as to what kind of sandwich it was, but he knew that he was hungry, and he wanted one.

       The three hour long drive made him famished.

       He sauntered over to her, and sat next to her. He reached for a sandwich from the small, Tupperware bowl, and in return, he got a hot slap on the back of his hand.

       "Only one," Kat warned.

       Nathan rolled his eyes and took one.

       "I remember you eating about nine of Jen Baker's sandwiches on our school picnic," she said, munching on another corner of her sandwich.

      It was grilled cheese with hot sauce.

      Why does she always put hot sauce on everything? Nathan wondered as he tried not to think about his burning tongue, and concentrate on the deliciousness of the lightly grilled bread and the cheesy goodness inside.

       "That was in fourth grade," he recalled. "It was only nine... I was extremely hungry!"

       "You brought a bowl of mac and cheese, plus you brought two apples and a bag of grapes!" Kat said, pointing a finger at him.

       "Okay, so I was really hungry. I'm a growing boy. I didn't eat breakfast, and now you almost made me skip lunch," he complained.

       "Well, we have more—BUT!" she pulled the bowl unto her lap, "you have to wait until Neil and Bree get back."

       "Where did they run off to?" Nathan asked.

       Kat got a hold of his bitter tone and pursed her lips into a fine line, her eyebrows knitting together as well. She watched as he got up and ran his free hand through his hair; he obviously needed a haircut, since his dark brown hair was growing into a mess on his head.
       She watched as his jaw moved with each chewing motion his mouth made. His jaw was so defined, she just wanted to trace alone the bone with her finger.

       "She's right!" He shouted at her.

       She didn't realize that he had walked all the way to the water.

       "It's warm!"

       She laughed so hard that little bits of her sandwich came flying out of her mouth. He was telling her that the water was truly warm, but if he only knew how warm he made her heart feel.

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Okay, this I apologize for this lazy chapter. I had a crazy weekend, and my creative juices aren't flowing that well. Also, I've been giving you a lot of #Nat moments, huh? Don't worry, #Brethan feels are coming very... very soon.

That's all, folks. Thank you for reading! See you Wednesday (:

(( or tomorrow? hmmmmmmmmmmmmm ))